By Our Special Correspondent
David Warner will face SunRisers Hyderabad for the first time since 2013 as the Delhi Capitals batter has scores to settle against his former franchise in Match 50 of IPL 2022 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. It's a crucial tie for both teams, more so for the Delhi Capitals who can't afford any more slip-ups if they are to reach the playoffs after having won only 4 of their first.9 matches in the season.
However, things went downhill in 2021 as Warner was sacked as captain before he was dropped from the side even as Sun Risers struggled to get going with just 3 wins in 14 matches. Rumour mills were working extra time as Warner and Sun Risers had a bad break-up last year but both parties have remained mum over the issue ever since.
While numbers always don’t tell the whole story but Lalit hasn’t exactly been the best finisher for Delhi and despite his reputation at the domestic level, he has managed only six maximums in seven innings so far.
Warner, who still is the highest run-getter for the Sun Risers with 4014 runs in 95 matches including 2 hundreds, has scored 264 runs in 7 matches at an average of 44 for Delhi Capitals. The left-handed batter has already proved his naysayers wrong after he was written off following a horror season with the bat with SRH - 195 runs in 8 matches in 2021
Skipper Rishabh Pant (234 from nine games) showed glimpses of his destructive power but the team would want more from its captain who is more than capable of hammering any attack into submission.
Pant's battle against India's fastest bowler Umran Malik will be a contest everyone will be looking forward to considering that the Jammu speedster only comes after power play, which could also be the time of the DC skipper's arrival to the crease.
Washington Sundar picked up another injury and is unlikely to be available for the clash on Thursday. SRH are likely to bring back Jagadeesa Suchith as a direct replacement. Lalit Yadav, meanwhile, has struggled to get going for Delhi Capitals and the former finalists might try out the likes of Sarfraz Khan in his place.
DC: Prithvi Shaw, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Rovman Powell, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya.
The first game in which SRH’s bowling and batting came under the pump was against CSK when they conceded 200 plus runs in 20 overs, and then left too much at the end, with Nicholas Pooran scoring consolation runs. How well SRH fare while batting first under lights remains to be seen as they have mostly chased.
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